Mind meets Mantra: Dance of matter and self
By Vijay Hashia
Mind and matter have always been a conundrum of human curiosity. Is mind matter or vice versa? How can a non-physical mind be linked to matter? Philosophers have explored various perspectives. While dualism closely associated with Réne Descartes, holds that the mind is a non-physical substance, distinct from physical body, associated with consciousness and self-awareness; others such as, William Hasker's emergent dualism states that the mind emerges from and is dependent on the physical body but remains distinct; JP Moreland and Johan Foster's Thomistic dualism emphasises mind-body almost similar to Cartesian dualism. These views contrast with physicalism and enactivism, which argue that all mental phenomena can be explained in terms of physical processes and the role of embodied interaction, respectively.
Since dualism asserts that the human mind is immaterial and disembodied, the mind could continue to exist even after the body dies. Still, it fails to explain how the non-physical mind can interact with the physical body. How can something which isn't made of matter influence others? This mind-matter interaction, therefore, remains a significant challenge for dualists due to limited interpretations.
In Hindu thought, the mind is generally viewed as a subtle form of matter, a derivative of Prakriti, nature or matter, rather than a separate entity. While there is a distinction between consciousness and the mind, it is not a complete separation, as propagated in Western dualistic thought.
Advaita Vedanta states that manas, the lower mind, receives sense impressions; buddhi, intellect, is for decisionmaking; chitta is for memory storage; and ahamkara is the sense of ego. It is seen as interacting with the Atman, the true Self or ultimate reality.
The mind is whimsical, capricious, restless, inconsistent, erratic, volatile, sense slave, trickster, unruly, yet a source of creativity and boundless potential. It is often castigated as 'monkey mind', a restless ocean, a childish, insane and akaleidoscope, et al. Senses, in experiencing the outer world, communicate with manifest objects; a wobbling, capricious mind gets carried away by senses, as it cannot directly communicate with manifest objects, so the senses provide resource input.
In meditation, as we close our eyes, we cannot see the outer world. Complete communication with the outer world breaks down as we focus on the object of meditation. With this, the deluge of thoughts subsides as we concentrate on the object or breath. Sensual consciousness transcends into a new experience of aesthetic consciousness, and this is the stage where knower, knowing, and knowledge merge with superconsciousness.
True meditation lies in knowing and enlightening the mind, and the stimulation comes through chanting of a mantra, for example, the Gayatri mantra 'Om bhur bhuvasvah tat saviturvarenyam bhargodevasya dihimahi dhiy hona pracodayat.' The mantra rejuvenates one's intellect and enlightens the mind. Sahir Ludhianvi's lyrics in Hindi song 'Tora mann darpan kehlaaye…,' depicts the heart as a mirror reflecting one's actions and karm, suggesting that good and bad deeds are seen and reflected in the heart.
True liberation lies in understanding the mind's nature and freeing it from conditioning.
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